Disney+ Cancels Planned Holes Series with Gender-Swapped Cast

Disney+ has officially terminated development on a series remake of the 2003 family film Holes. The project, which was ordered earlier this year, aimed to gender-swap the original story, featuring a female lead in the role made famous by Shia LaBeouf and a male villain. No specific reason has been given for the cancellation.

The series had assembled a significant portion of its creative team and cast prior to being scrapped. The pilot was set to be directed by Jac Schaeffer, who would also executive produce alongside Drew Goddard and others.

Cast and Creative Team

The adaptation had secured several key actors:

• Shay Rudolph (The Baby-Sitters Club) was cast as the female lead, taking over the core character originally played by Shia LaBeouf.
• Greg Kinnear was slated to play the role of the story’s villain, the cruel warden.
• The supporting cast included Aidy Bryant as camp counselor Sissy and Noah Cottrell as kitchen employee Kitch, alongside a group of young actors as fellow campers.

The Planned Reimagining

The series was described as a “reimagining” of Louis Sachar’s 1998 novel, with Sachar also having written the screenplay for the 2003 movie. The official synopsis indicated the story would follow “a teenage girl sent to a detention camp where the ruthless Warden forces the campers to dig holes for a mysterious purpose.” This directly mirrored the plot of the original but with a genderswapped protagonist.

Context of Disney’s Remake Strategy

This cancellation comes as Disney+ has actively pursued a strategy of developing movie-to-series remakes, reboots, and sequels. Recent examples include new versions of Cheaper by the Dozen, Willow, and Wizards Beyond Waverly Place. The scrapping of the Holes series demonstrates that not all announced projects in this initiative move forward to production.

Legacy of the Original Holes Film

The 2003 film adaptation of Holes is widely regarded as a successful and faithful interpretation of the source material. Directed by Andrew Davis, the film starred Shia LaBeouf, Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, and Patricia Arquette. It was well-received, earning a 78% critics score and a 76% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, with praise for its ability to appeal to both young viewers and their parents. Many contemporary reviews still laud it as a “truly original” tale and a rare adaptation that retains its magic years later.

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